


The Man's Man

by ohayohimawari, thetoxicstrawberry



Category: Naruto
Genre: Awkward Boners, Awkward Conversations, Awkward Hatake Kakashi, Awkward Ninjas, Bad Flirting, Character Study, Eventual Smut, Gai's Got Game, Hatake Kakashi Has Issues, Kage Bunshin | Shadow Clones, Other, POV Hatake Kakashi, Porn With Plot, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-19 12:54:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20657594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohayohimawari/pseuds/ohayohimawari, https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetoxicstrawberry/pseuds/thetoxicstrawberry
Summary: Kakashi is an elite genius in the shinobi world, that's true. However, his social skills could use some work. He summons a clone to help him analyze his failings. Self-awareness and shenanigans follow.





	1. The Challenge

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is part of a collaboration with [thetoxicstrawberry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetoxicstrawberry/profile) for the Kakashi Rare Pair Bang Event on Tumblr. I'm so happy to have worked together on this and I'm excited to share it!
> 
> I invite comments from my readers, your feedback and opinions on my stories make me happier than you could know!
> 
> I do not own these characters; I've had a wonderful time manipulating them.
> 
> Join [The Kakashi Lounge Discord Server](https://discord.gg/fxyw3eB)  
To be a member, you must be:  
-at least 16 years old  
-able to play nice with others in a multishipping community

“It sounds like you’ve got more of a love triangle than a team, Kakashi.”

“Yeah.” Kakashi looked down at the cup of tea that he’d ordered but hadn’t sampled yet, owing to the crowded shop that he, Gai, Kurenai, and Asuma were sitting in. “Their teamwork still has a long way to go.”

“That’s to be expected, though, isn’t it? They’ve been thrown together; all of our genin students are at that awkward stage.” Asuma brushed the ashes off the table that had dropped from his cigarette as he’d spoken.

“They’re more focused on their ridiculous flirting than learning jutsu.” Kakashi removed his hands from his lukewarm teacup. “Maybe I should hold off on recommending them for the next chūnin exam.”

“There is nothing like a love rival to inspire a man to better himself.” Gai nodded his head with the same passion he applied to everything in his life after he shared his pearl of wisdom.

“Yeah, well, some of them may not make it to manhood if they don’t hurry up and grow out of this awkward stage like we did.”

Kakashi looked up when his three comrades erupted with laughter, surprised at their reaction to his complaint.

“You mean like _some_ of us did,” Gai managed between chuckles.

“What do you mean?” Kakashi looked to Kurenai and Asuma for elaboration.

“He means that some of us have grown into better flirts than others, Kakashi.” Kurenai stole a quick sidelong glance at Asuma before a crimson flush spread across her face.

“Let’s just say that the old man arranges teams that he thinks will help the jōnin grow and develop right along with their students.”

“What are you driving at?” Kakashi bristled.

“What he’s saying, _Rival_,” Gai exaggerated the word for dramatic effect, “is that, for all your genius, your people skills are lacking.”

“Wha—I…I, that’s ridicu—What?” Kakashi looked down at his teacup to hide his growing discomfort. “I can handle people,” he grumbled.

“You can handle _prisoners_, Kakashi. I’m not so sure about small talk.” Asuma exhaled his opinion within a cloud of smoke.

“I was an ANBU captain; I led teams. We had small talk all the time.”

“Oh? Like what?”

Kakashi shifted in his seat while he struggled to produce an example. “You know I can’t divulge anything about the ANBU,” he offered instead.

“Right,” Asuma’s sarcastic tone proved he was willing to call out Kakashi’s bluff.

“I can’t imagine the ANBU corps would provide many opportunities to socialize, Kakashi.” Kurenai’s velvet voice helped to soften the blow that she agreed with the other two.

Kakashi wrapped one hand around his now cold teacup to compensate for his lack of reply and let his thumb run up and down the side of it.

“Cheer up, Rival. You should come out with me some weekend. I’ll show you how it’s done,” Gai issued a blinding smile as he clapped a hand on Kakashi’s shoulder.

Kakashi took his turn to laugh but stopped when he was the only one.

“Gai’s got game, Kakashi. It’s almost as legendary as his eyebrows.” Asuma leaned over to stub his cigarette out on the sole of his sandal.

Kakashi’s eye darted to Kurenai, who shrugged her shoulders. “It’s true,” she confirmed.

He turned to regard his self-proclaimed rival and scrutinized the man from his bowl cut to his leg warmers in disbelief.

Gai returned the examination with a wink and a thumbs-up. “Stick with me, Kakashi, and you’ll be a smooth talker in no time.”

Kakashi’s silver tongue had got him out of plenty of restaurant tabs, and he used it now to try to convince the others. “Oh, believe me, I’m a smooth talker.”

“That sounds like a challenge.” A familiar, dangerous glint appeared in Gai’s eyes. “Prove it.”

“What, right now?!”

“Yes, right now and right here.”

Kakashi did his best to ignore Kurenai and Asuma’s amused expressions as he looked around the crowded tea shop. Not far from where they sat were two women that had been engaged in conversation since they’d arrived. It was evident to his trained eye that they were civilians and good friends by the amount of laughter that carried over from their table to his. Decided upon his target, he turned to face Gai again.

“You haven’t said what you’ll do if you lose,” Kakashi hoped he sounded more confident than he felt.

Gai’s lips slowly curled into a smile, and that was his only reply.

Kakashi wasn’t easily intimidated and determined to never show it when he was. He pushed his sleeves up to the elbow on each arm to expose a scar or two that was sure to impress. He smoothed his hands, clad in fingerless gloves, down his trousers as he stood up from the table. Kurenai whistled encouragement, and he glanced back at his comrades just in time to catch Asuma’s smirk.

Unsure but unshaken, Kakashi approached the two women. He quickly caught the attention of one who then nudged her friend to turn and look at him as well. He froze, but only momentarily, and hoped that wasn’t too long for their civilian eyes to detect weakness. He then overcompensated and gestured finger guns at the women, complete with sound effects.

The two women shared a look that unnerved Kakashi, but he was past the point of backing out. He could feel three pairs of ninja's eyes boring into his back, urging him on, despite his misstep.

“Hi,” he’d made it to their table and initiated contact with his targets.

“Hi,” the braver of the two civilian women replied in what Kakashi assumed was a flirtatious manner.

He issued his most inviting, albeit hidden, smile in return. “I-I,” he stammered, quickly thinking through strategies he could employ in this situation. He knew he needed to impress, and he felt the pressure of it needing to be efficient, effective, and immediate.

Then it came to him. “You know, I’ve got over a thousand jutsus to my name.”

“Really?” The braver of the two civilian women smiled and twirled a lock of her hair around her finger.

It had worked. “Oh, yeah,” Kakashi continued. “I’m wanted _real_ bad in all of the nations,” he folded his arms across his chest, tensing his muscles for effect as he did. “I’m listed as ‘kill on sight’ in every bingo book.”

The braver of the two civilian women stopped twirling her hair, and her smile faltered a little. Her friend looked around the perimeter of the tea shop, noting the exits.

“Well, maybe not _every_ bingo book,” Kakashi scrambled to salvage the situation. “Obviously the Hidden Leaf wants me alive,” he chuckled nervously.

Kakashi’s attempt at lighthearted humor didn’t earn him the desired response. He continued even as he felt the scene spiral beyond his control. He uncrossed his arms and made a last-ditch effort at making any kind of good impression on the civilian women. “It’s only because I’m one of the last shinobi to have one of these babies,” he said as he lifted his forehead protector to reveal his red and spinning sharingan eye.

Both women recoiled from Kakashi, and in the same instant, Gai was at his side. “Please excuse my friend,” he soothed through his blinding smile. “He spends a lot of time away on missions to protect our village.”

Both women relaxed in their seats. The one that had spoken looked at Kakashi with a softened expression. She tilted her head to one side and hummed sympathetically.

Kakashi felt that it couldn’t get worse than that and in case it could, he wasn’t going to stick around to witness it. He turned and retook his seat at the table with Asuma and Kurenai.

“Struck out, huh?” Asuma teased him.

“Give him a break, Asuma,” Kurenai said gently. “I’m sorry, Kakashi, we shouldn’t have pushed you.”

His friend’s pity was definitely worse than a stranger’s sympathy. Kakashi tugged his sleeves back down and decided it was time to cut his losses and go. Before he could say as much, a waiter arrived at their table and dropped a slip of paper in front of him.

Kakashi clenched his jaw when he realized it was the check belonging to the two women, which Gai had personalized before he sent it over with the waiter.

“What’s 47/46?” Asuma asked as he squinted at the bill.

Kakashi tore his eye from the updated rivalry standings and left the question unanswered. He hadn’t fallen behind Gai since they were kids and hated the way it made him feel. He patted the pockets of his jōnin vest, searching for his wallet. As he thumbed through his hard-earned ryo to cover their tab, Kurenai giggled, pulling Kakashi’s attention back to his comrades.

“He’s unbelievable,” Asuma nodded towards the door of the tea shop.

Kakashi turned around in time to catch Gai heading to the exit with both women; displaying a thumbs-up with each hand behind their backs for his friends to see.

The last straw came when Kakashi saw that Tenzō was on his way in and held the door to the departing trio. Without another word to Asuma or Kurenai, he dropped his money on the table, stood up abruptly and hurried to leave. As he breezed past Tenzō, he barely heard the words, “Oh, hey senpai.”

Kakashi ignored the polite, confused greeting as he rushed to the rooftops to escape the embarrassing scene before the rest of Konoha turned up to witness it.


	2. The Counterfeit

Kakashi slipped in through the kitchen window of his apartment and shed his sandals. He punctured the silence of his sanctuary when he unzipped his jōnin vest and draped it on the back of a chair. He sighed, stuffed his hands in his trouser pockets and strolled across the room to lean against his kitchen counter.

His mind wouldn’t allow him to ignore the embarrassing scene from the tea shop and now that he was enveloped in the privacy of his flat, Kakashi cringed, then withdrew into himself.

_Why had it gone so wrong?_

Granted, he’d been thrust into a situation that he hadn’t prepared for, but that brought him little consolation when the same could be said for Gai. His rival had succeeded where Kakashi had failed, and there was no getting around that fact.

Kakashi shook his head to free it from his mortification in order to address the most pressing problem. While establishing distance and inspiring fear in the hearts of his enemies could be considered an essential shinobi skill, it wasn’t what he’d want to project to those he was dedicated to protecting.

Kakashi’s thoughts drifted to Minato, as they so often did when he wanted guidance. Lord Fourth, the same man that struck terror in whole nations, was also warm, inviting, even gentle with those he served and cared for. From Kakashi’s vantage point, his late sensei made everything look easy, and in hindsight, his people skills seemed as perfect as anything else his student admired about him.

‘_You can handle_ prisoners, _Kakashi. I’m not so sure about small talk_.’

Kakashi wouldn’t have believed Asuma’s words if he hadn’t proved them right. The truth traveled with him as he walked through his apartment to stand before the mirror in his bathroom.

He switched the light on, and the face that stared back at him was three-quarters cloth, one-quarter apathy. Kakashi forced a small smile like the one Minato often wore, but there was no visible change in the mirror.

Of course, he was aware of the most obvious way to remedy the situation. However, Kakashi doubted that walking around with a naked face would be enough to endear him to others. He was also aware that he was making an excuse for why he simply didn’t want to.

Kakashi smiled again, full of teeth and absurdity like Gai did. The mask shifted a little but revealed nothing. Under such close inspection, he noticed that slight creases had formed in the corner of his visible eye and it gave him an idea.

He switched the bathroom light off as he strode into his adjoined bedroom. Kakashi wove hand signs quicker than the eye could follow, and before he could overthink what he was about to do.

“Kage bunshin no jutsu!”

Kakashi began to tug off his fingerless gloves as his replica greeted him, “Yo.”

It was only a beat later when the clone’s thoughts caught up to his creator’s, and the reason for his summoning became known to him. “You can’t be serious,” he said.

“I wouldn’t have summoned you if I wasn’t—” Kakashi paused, wrestling with what to call his clone. He pulled the chair out from his desk in his bedroom and turned it around as he quickly considered options. “Hatake,” he decided and sat down.

Hatake stuffed his hands in his trouser pockets and fixed his grey eye on the other. “Then you do it, and I’ll watch.”

“That’s not how this is going to work and the sooner you fall in line, the sooner it’ll be over.” Kakashi leaned forward in his chair and rested his elbows on his knees.

Hatake stood motionless as he continued to assess his audience. His eye never wavered and remained devoid of any hint to his thoughts.

“See that right there. That’s the problem,” Kakashi continued. “I can’t guess at your emotions or thoughts. It’s impossible to read you or your feelings.”

“You should know how I feel,” came Hatake’s succinct reply.

“Are you always this infuriating?” Kakashi asked of his clone and immediately regretted it.

Hatake pulled his hands from his pockets and pointed finger guns at Kakashi; punctuating his point with sound effects.

Kakashi ignored Hatake’s sarcasm, observing his clone instead. “Yeah, okay. I can see why that didn’t work.”

Hatake shifted his weight from one foot to the other, looking down as he did.

Because he knew that the clone shared his memories of the tea shop, Kakashi ventured to guess his reaction based on his body language. “You’re embarrassed.”

Hatake exhaled, exasperated. “More now than you were then.”

“Why more?”

“You’ve created me to reenact it for you,” Hatake huffed. “You expect _me_ to put _myself _under the microscope because _you_ are unwilling.”

“I can guess that you’re angry too,” Kakashi kept his focus on Hatake’s appearance and dismissed the words the other spoke.

“You guess?” Hatake met his creator’s eye.

“You don’t look it, but now I can tell from your tone of voice.” Kakashi sat back in his chair. “Try squinting that eye,” he directed his other.

Hatake’s eye narrowed as he glared at Kakashi.

“Oh, that’s good, yes. Though I might not want to use that look on a comrade,” Kakashi considered.

Hatake arched his right eyebrow, stretching the eye back open.

“What’s that look for?” Kakashi prodded his clone.

“I—_you_, aren’t accustomed to being spoken to this way,” Hatake explained.

“Disbelief then? Or shock?” Kakashi continued to ignore his clone. “If I have to ask then that means it needs work. Try widening that eye.”

Hatake rolled his eye in response, but Kakashi didn’t rise to it; choosing to silently enforce his command instead.

The standoff didn’t last long before the clone buckled and opened his eye wider.

Kakashi studied his other. “I’m not sure that’s enough, it looks odd—”

“It feels odd—” Hatake interrupted.

“Open it wider,” Kakashi interrupted the interruption.

Hatake opened his right eye so wide that the eyelid disappeared from sight.

“That’s it! How does it feel?”

“I feel like an idiot.”

“Stop being so difficult,” Kakashi dropped his head into his hands, frustrated. “I need to know how it feels so I can recreate it.”

“If you feel like an idiot, then you’re doing it right,” Hatake relaxed his eye again, blinking away the dryness.

Kakashi let his hands fall to his lap again as he leaned back in his chair. “I need you to take this seriously.”

“You’re telling _me_ to take this seriously?” His clone scoffed, “I think your plan is fundamentally flawed.”

“I don’t care what you think right now. Besides,” Kakashi mimicked his clone’s glare, “I’ll know all of your thoughts when I dispel the jutsu.”

Hatake turned his head to the right, completely obscuring what little could be seen of his face.

“Ah, so it doesn’t matter what I do with my eye if they’re standing to my left. That’s good to know. This is why conjuring a clone is better than using a mirror,” Kakashi continued to disregard his clone, and justified his unconventional use of the jutsu. “This means that we’ll have to practice body language too.”

Hatake looked down at his feet but kept his head turned away. Kakashi assumed his clone was deliberately avoiding his scrutiny, and his patience with it was wearing thin.

“Look at me,” Kakashi instructed, but the clone remained as he stood.

“I said, look at me, Hatake,” Kakashi repeated and stood up from his chair.

Hatake stiffened almost imperceptibly. He shoved his hands in his pockets before he finally faced his other. His half-lidded grey eye was solemn, humorless when he addressed his original.

“You should know that I am much more than a tool for you to use.”

Those words though uttered quietly, rang loud in Kakashi’s ears. He studied his clone’s face for any hint of the emotion that festered underneath the underneath.

“You are a shadow clone,” Kakashi pressed as he took a step closer.

“I am _your_ clone, and I am as complex as you are,” Hatake corrected him. “Though you haven’t taken the chance to know it,” he added, under his breath.

Hatake sighed and looked down at his feet. Kakashi remained quiet, recognizing his own absent-minded mannerisms played out as his other seemed to consider his next words. He even heard the slight smacking sound of Hatake licking his masked lips as he thought. Another moment passed before the clone’s eye met his again.

“I am an independent extension of you, which you have refused to acknowledge. And you have asked more of me than you yourself are willing to give.”

Kakashi’s eye lingered on Hatake’s as he absorbed the clone’s words. “You’re correct.” He nodded as he lowered his gaze to the floor.

“I don’t need a reminder of how precarious my position is, but when you dispel the jutsu, you _will_ know my thoughts, so I think it fair to warn you that some of them will surprise you.” Kakashi saw Hatake’s feet move as the clone shifted his stance and muttered, “They surprised me, anyway.”

“How so?” Kakashi looked up to meet Hatake’s eye again, but the clone’s gaze was fixed on the wall beyond him, and a deep red flush had crept over his pale complexion.


	3. The Coalescence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Berry created an amazing piece of KakaKaka fanart to compliment a scene in this final chapter! Check the endnotes for links to Berry's art blogs!

“It seems that I—that _you_,” Hatake stammered as he met Kakashi’s gaze, “rather like it when you allow someone else to be in charge. Among other things…” he trailed off.

“What?” Kakashi asked in disbelief, hoping his face expressed as much.

Hatake looked sideways again, obviously embarrassed. He fidgeted uncomfortably, drawing Kakashi’s gaze lower in time to catch him using one pocketed hand to adjust the appendage between his legs.

Kakashi’s eye, wider than he’d ever felt it before, darted back up to Hatake’s face. The clone hadn’t turned away, but he refused to meet his original’s eye. Whether that was out of fear or shame, Kakashi couldn’t tell, and it pained him to see it. He licked his masked lips while he considered how to break the uncomfortable silence.

“It’s already been a full day of surprises, so why not one more?” He chuckled his question, scratching at the back of his head.

Hatake’s eye met his again, but he didn’t answer. Kakashi met his silence with silence, taking the time to reassess his expectations of, and behavior to his clone. To say he’d been unfair to his other would be an understatement. He’d put Hatake through the wringer and hung him out to dry.

Kakashi had nullified Hatake at every opportunity, and for what reason? Because he was angry at himself?

That question cut through all other thoughts, begging for his immediate attention.

When forced to reckon with his dismal social skills, Kakashi had intended to improve them. But when granted an opportunity to literally step outside of himself, he chose to redirect his self-loathing and lash out at his other.

Hatake had borne the brunt of it and was still standing there, still exposed in ways that Kakashi hadn’t allowed himself to be. He wanted to explore his clone-himself-further and decided to employ a tactic he hadn’t practiced before. Acceptance.

He reached a tentative hand to the bulge protruding from between the clone’s legs.

Hatake’s erection didn’t feel unfamiliar, but it had progressed beyond what Kakashi had expected. He whistled to show that he was impressed. “You got this just from me bossing you around?” He wondered if he’d had this effect on anyone else.

“Don’t flatter yourself—” Hatake’s retort was cut short with a sharp intake of breath when Kakashi began palming him through his trousers. “There’s more to it than that,” he exhaled.

Kakashi watched as Hatake’s eye rolled back into his head, mesmerized by how delicately his eyelid fluttered and how his lashes brushed against his skin. It was unexpected, and though he could never have witnessed this expression on himself before, he didn’t have to wonder what it meant.

“What else?” Kakashi asked hastily and then chastised himself internally for continuing to push his other. They both knew that he would have all of the answers when the jutsu ended. “I’m sorry,” he attempted to retract the question.

He walked behind his clone, his hand applying more pressure on his other’s body. Hatake’s only movement was an involuntary twitching in his original’s grasp.

“I’m not sure how to explain it,” Hatake thrust his hips forward experimentally, seeking greater friction and grunting when he got it.

“You don’t have to. You’ve done enough, more than enough.” Without realizing it, Kakashi was offering words that he himself didn’t hear as often as he wished. “You’ve been pushed so hard as it is and carried everything that’s been thrown at you. You’ve done well.”

Kakashi observed his clone’s neediness when he briefly withdrew his hand. Hatake swallowed loudly enough for Kakashi to hear it, and it was enough to make his own breath quicken. He thrust his hand down the front of his clone’s trousers, grasping a perfect copy of his groin from a more familiar angle.

“You—ah,” Hatake stuttered into a bitten-off groan when his original began stroking him, knowing how and where it brought the most pleasure.

Kakashi felt his clone slump against him, felt his other’s hands grab his trousers at either side of his legs, twisting the material in his fists, and anchoring him to his original. Hatake’s head fell back onto Kakashi’s shoulder, his chest heaving as he panted.

Watching his replica succumb was not at all what Kakashi expected. He wondered how his clone could so easily, almost eagerly give himself over. Whatever the reason, it sparked his arousal too. He brought his unoccupied hand up to Hatake’s head to run his fingers through the identical silver cowlicks.

Hatake arched into his touch, and Kakashi had to crane his neck so that he could see his clone’s eye. He’d never seen another open themselves so completely-not even in his expert handling of prisoners-and he never thought _himself_ capable of such abandon. However, the proof of the passionate man that he was writhed against him.

“To identify your-_my_ emotions,” Hatake pulled Kakashi’s attention away from his body, “to be expected to express them, made me feel…” he trailed off, seeming too distracted to continue.

Kakashi slowed his unrestrained groping beneath Hatake’s trousers; partly to allow his clone to continue his train of thought and partly to prolong the experience. He took in the other’s appearance and offered the word that came to mind, “Vulnerable?”

“It’s not as bad as you think. Definitely not as humiliating as the tea shop,” Hatake panted, thrusting his hips and his cock forward to compensate for Kakashi’s diminished strokes.

Kakashi felt his composure slipping. He rubbed his firming erection against Hatake’s leg. “I can imagine it might feel like a relief to allow someone else to call the shots once in a while,” he confessed.

“If it’s someone you trust.” Hatake began thrusting faster, using his whole body to express what he wanted. Then he grunted through his nose and requested it instead, “Please, make me come.”

Hatake’s request went straight to Kakashi’s crotch, threatening to overpower the remaining remnants of his self-control. He exerted the last of it, reaching for Hatake’s mask, wanting to see more of his face. “You trust me?” He asked, tightening his grip on the other’s cock; stroking it hard and rough.

Hatake was breathing through his opened mouth, and the mask caught on his bottom lip as it was tugged off. He bore the same scar as Kakashi did, as well as the birthmark below it. If he cared that his face had been so suddenly exposed, he didn’t show it.

“Shouldn’t I?” Hatake answered Kakashi’s question with a question before he closed his eye. His body shook, then tensed. Pronounced creases formed in the corner of his eye in an almost pained expression and he gulped in air through a few harsh, deep breaths.

Kakashi felt the warmth of Hatake’s release as it ran down his hand. The clone went silent, holding his breath. His pale complexion flushed almost pink, and stillness settled on his features, softening them. It remained there after he’d spilled the last of his orgasm.

The sound of Kakashi’s pants echoed in the room. He stilled his hips, aware of his own urgency and how it now disturbed the peace that had crept over and around his clone and himself.

Hatake blinked his bleary eye into focus and met Kakashi’s gaze. A small smirk formed on his lips, smug and satisfied. Then he was gone, dispelling himself and ending the jutsu.

Kakashi swayed on his feet, his balance affected by the loss of the clone he’d braced himself against and the information gathered through Hatake’s existence rushed into Kakashi’s mind, overwhelming it.

His brain struggled to accommodate his clone’s thoughts, reactions, and experiences while transmitting physical sensations. Kakashi was unable to stop it when his body caught up with his flooded mind. He came so strong and so suddenly that he could hear his blood pumping in his ears.

When it had passed over, and through him, he laid there catching his breath, mentally sifting through his and Hatake’s experiences. Kakashi set to analyzing the implanted memories, quickly realizing that his clone had left him with more than one surprise.

Hatake had cycled through all the emotions that Kakashi had dictated to him, establishing a reliable process to guide him through such foreign territory. He’d identify the sentiment, then accept that he was feeling it, before finally expressing it. All of the backtalk, the reluctance, was done without thought. It was his way of stalling while he strived to exceed Kakashi’s expectations. And all the while assessing his original.

Kakashi had created his clone to spare himself what he thought would be an emasculating experience. Hatake knew it and was initially outraged. His clone’s anger ebbed as he’d observed his original. Hatake identified confusion and frustration in his creator and had humored Kakashi rather than point it out.

He didn’t need unrestricted access to his clone’s thoughts to know that Hatake felt liberated by the experience. Kakashi learned that his clone’s openness came from being unburdened.

He exhaled and rubbed the heel of one hand into his eye. He was tired of thinking, and especially, feeling. The incident at the tea shop seemed like it happened ages ago, instead of only an hour or two.

Kakashi had learned much of himself, or at least more than he bargained for, from Hatake. The experience with his clone was too intense to be repeated often, though he couldn’t deny that he preferred his own company.

Still determined to improve his social skills on his own terms, he stood up, stripped off his soiled clothing, and went to his closet to choose something fresh to change into after a shower.

Behind too many sets of the same uniform was a long coat and scarf from a disguise he hadn’t used since he’d been released from ANBU. He pulled them out and laid them on his bed.

He couldn’t remember where he’d stashed the brown wig, but he did recall on which shelf he stored his camera. Perhaps as Sukea, Kakashi could learn how to express himself better.

At least, he’d be able to unravel the mystery of Gai’s legendary skills by tailing his rival undetected.

** The End **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please check out Berry's art blogs for more amazing work!:
> 
> [Tumblr](https://berry-doodles.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.social/berry-doodles)  
(While you're there, make a Pillowfort profile to appreciate and support artists on a site that doesn't stifle their creativity.)


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